Buchanan visitors, friends, residents and business owners are invited to join Mayor Carla Cole as she and others dedicate downtown Buchanan's new historical marker at Front and Main Streets, at Noon on Saturday May 26th.

For ten months, Buchanan, Michigan's Downtown Development Authority has worked quietly in the background, assembling a new program that better defines the City's Downtown National Register Historic District and many of its properties.

In a pair of programs, the Authority updated and will rededicate its large historical marker at Front and Main Streets. The updated marker includes new information about the Arts and Historical District, and downtown's newer, 2009 National Register Historic District. The districts overlap in some cases, but their designations are distinct.

At the same time the large marker was updated, small bronze historic building plaques were cast in a Pennsylvania foundry and then shipped to Buchanan. The plaques were recently mounted in eighteen downtown locations on their respective historic properties. This spring, owners whose properties "Contribute" to the Downtown Buchanan National Register Historic District took the opportunity to participate in the Authority's new plaque designation program. The plaques display the name of the district, the properties' historic building names, and construction dates.

All will be in place and the large marker will be dedicated on May 26th at Noon, during Buchanan's annual Un-Sanctioned event. Buchanan Mayor Carla Cole will preside over the dedication. Speakers include Downtown Development Authority Chairman Dave Hagey, and Donald Ryman, retired County Commissioner, and founding member of Buchanan's Preservation Society.

In its fourth year, Buchanan's May 26th Un-Sanctioned event runs from 10 AM until 9 PM. In addition to the marker dedication, UnSanctioned features downtown's Farmers' Market, merchant open houses, tours at Historic Pear's Mill, music, art and more.

About Us:

Un-Sanctioned is sponsored by the Buchanan Downtown Development Authority. The DDA's marker and plaque programs were developed and administered by Kalamazoo-based Preservation Practices, a historic preservation consulting firm owned by Pamela Hall O'Connor.